Washing device



Aug. 9, 1960 D. D'.'GRACEMAN 2,948,479

WASHING DEVICE I Filed March 31, 1959 INVENTOR |3 DONALD D. GRACEMAN ATTORNEYS United States Patent WASHING DEVICE Donald D. Graceman, 4701 Humboldt Ave. S.,

Minneapolis 9, Minn.

The herein disclosed invention relates to shiftable washing devices and particularly-to the type of washing device utilizing a nozzle fed by a liquid such as water and a cleansing fluid.

An object of the invention resides in providing a device which is particularly adapted for washing automobiles and which is easily shifted about to reach the various parts of the automobile. I

Another object of the invention resides in providing adevice mounted on a wall, or other vertical support adjacent the wash rack and which can be readily shifted about and moved into the plane. of the wall' whenvnot in use to permit of using the wash rack for other purposes and to permit of running trucks and similar vehicles of a height greater than the washing device on the wash rack.

A still further object of the invention resides in constructing the device in the form of a bracket having an upper arm constructed from pipe and attached to a vertical reach also constructed from pipe and from the upper end of which said arm issues together with hearing means for supporting said bracket for swinging movement about a vertical axis coincident with or parallel to theaxis of said vertical reach.

An object of the invention resides in providing a brace extending diagonally from the vertical reach at a location below the bearing means therefor and to the horizontal arm outwardly firom the vertical reach, said brace being also constructed of pipe;

Another object of the invention resides in connecting the lower ends of said vertical reach and said brace to sources of fluid to be used in washing, and the outer ends of the horizontal arm and said brace to hose which are connected to the nozzle.

Other objects of the invention reside in the novel combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter illustrated and/or described.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of an embodiment of the invention mounted on the wall of a building adjacent a wash rack.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 1 and illustrating the device swung against the wall and out of the way.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of the distributing system'of the invention.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, a portion of a wall 11 of a building has been shown in the drawings. The said wall represents a wall adjacent the wash rack and where the wash rack is enclosed a similar wall would be located on the opposite side. While a wall is the most desirable place to locate the device, a post or other vertical structure may be used in place thereof. Since the wash rack forms no particular feature of the invention, details of the same have not been illustrated.

The invention proper comprises a horizontal arm 12 constructed of pipe, which is screwed into an L 13. A

vertical reach 14 also constructed of pipe is screwed into the L 13 and extends downwardly therefrom. The reach 14 serves as a journal and is rotatablymounted in a sleeve bearing 15 secured to a plate 16 by means of welds 20. This plate is attached to the wall 11 by means of lag screws 17 which pass through said plate and are screwed into plugs 18 driven into holes 19 in said wall. The L 13 rests on the end of the bearing 15 and supports the entire device. By means of the construction shown, the entire device may swing from the extreme outward position as shown in Fig. l or to its fully retracted position as shown in Fig. 2.

To stifien and reinforce the arm 12, a brace 21 is employed, which is constructed of pipe and which has a horizontal section 22 underlying the arm 12 near its outer end. This section has screwed on the outer end thereof an L 23 and to which is connected a nipple 24. This section is secured to the arm 12 by means of welds 25. The outer end of the arm 12 is also screwed into an L 26 disposed in close proximity to the L 23 which has a nipple 27 screwed'into the same. The other end of the brace 21 is screwed into an L 28 which in turn is secured to the reach 14 'below the bearing 15 by means of welds 29. A downwardly extending nipple 31 is also screwed invthe L 28. While the brace 21 is shown as extending downwardly from the arm 12 at a rather flat incline, it will be readily understood that the incline may be made steeper to better reinforce the arm at the expense of being more in the way of the operator using the device.

The nozzle used with the invention is indicated by the reference numeral 32. This nozzle may be of any suitable construction such as is now well known in the art and has hence not been shown in detail. The nozzle 32 is of the mixer type and has two hose 33 and 34 connected to it and which feed the fluids used in wash ing to it where the same are mixed and discharged from the nozzle tip 30 for the desired use. The tip 30 is removable and may be replaced by a brush if desired. The hose 33 and 34 are of suitable length to reach the desired places on the automobile and are connected to the nipples 24 and 27 by hose couplings 35 and 36. Valves 3-7 and 38 in the nozzle 32 control the proportion of the respective fluids to be mixed and discharged from the nozzle and a lever 39 operates a valve mechanism, not shown, which shuts oflf or turns on both fluids simultaneously.

Connected to the reach 14 and nipples 31 by means of hose couplings 41 and 42 are hose 43 and 44. These hose are connected to sources of fluid under pressure at some distance below the nipples 14 and 31 so that the hose may be flexed in tortion to accommodate swinging of the arm 12. If desired, the hose may be connected to valved headers leading from the various sources of fluid under pressure. In some cases steam becomes desirable and also compressed air and in addition water and/or liquid solvents may be used. Both hot and cold water can be employed and .mixed with detergents or other cleansing agents. Similarly, liquid solvents may be atomized by the nozzle by steam or compressed air and sprayed as a mist on the surfaces to be cleaned.

For the purpose of illustration, two headers 45 and 46 have been shown in Fig. 4 for providing the difierent fluids to the nozzle 32. These headers may be const-ructed as castings having threaded bosses 47 and 48 formed on the same. In these bosses are screwed nipples 49 and 50. Couplings 51 and 52 are secured to the ends of the hose 43 and 44 and are screwed on the nipples 49. Where the headers 45 and/or 46 are located at some distance from the wash rack, intervening piping Patented Aug. 9, 1960 J: may be used between the nipples 49 and 52 and the hose 33 and 34. The bosses 48 have screwed in them nipples 50 which have connected to them valves 53 and to which are connected pipes 54. These pipes lead to the various sources of the fluids to be used in cleaning.

The operation of the invention is very simple. The proper valves 53 are opened to give the desired fluids and the amounts of the same controlled by the valves 37 and 38 in the nozzle 32. Various types of tips 30 may also be used including the brush type. On the underside of the automobile steam may be used and for washing other parts, mixtures of different fluids as for example, water, hot or cold, and soap or detergent solutions. After washing cold water alone may be used for rinsing.

The advantages of the invention are manifest. The device is extremely simple in construction and may be sold at an economical price. The device is convenient to use and can readily be shifted about to reach all pants of the automobile. When not desired for use, the bracket can be swung against the wall where the same is out of the way.

Changes in the specific form of the invention, as herein described, may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is:

1. A washing device comprising a bracket formed with a horizontal arm and a vertical reach connected thereto and constructed of pipe, a bearing receiving said vertical reach as a journal and supporting said bracket for swinging movement, a brace connected to said vertical reach below said bearing and to said horizontal arm near the outer end thereof, said brace being constructed of pipe, hose connections connected to the outer end of said horizontal arm and said brace, a nozzle using two fluids, two hose connecting said nozzle With said hose connections, conduits connected to the vertical reach of said bracket and to the other end of said brace, and means feeding fluids to said conduits.

2. A washing device comprising a bracket formed with a horizontal arm and a vertical reach connected thereto and constructed of pipe, a bearing receiving said vertical reach as a journal and supporting said bracket for swinging movement, a brace connected to said vertical reach below said bearing and to said horizontal arm near the outer end thereof, said brace being constructed of pipe, hose connections connected to the outer end of said horizontal arm and said brace, a nozzle using two fluids, two hose connecting said nozzle with said hose connections, conduits connected to the vertical reach of said bracket and to the other end of said brace, means feed ing fluids to said conduits, and swivel means between said vertical reach and said brace and said last named means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,502,115 Nicholson July 22, 1924 1,829,173 Wertz Oct. 27, 1931 2,242,692 Yingling May 20, 1941 2,775,481 Mitchell Dec. 25, .1956 

